December 29, 2012

Here is a list of all of my finished projects for 2012 (with the exception of the last two at the bottom right, which are completed tops, waiting to be quilted). When I look at it on the whole, I'd say 2012 was pretty productive from a quilting perspective, given that I also work full time and have to wrestle a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old each day! I've tried to challenge myself with new techniques in 2012 and also opened a little Etsy store to sell quilts that didn't have a home in mind, hoping to finance my next trip to the fabric store. I've been lucky enough to sell a few quilts and I really appreciate the chance to share my quilting with others.

So, what's on the horizon for 2013? I've got one online bee (Color Bee Shocked), one online Block-of-the-Month (Lucky Stars BOM) that I am pretty excited about, and lots of unfinished projects from 2012 still waiting in the wings. I am very active in my local quilt Guild and will continue to do that to spread the word to young women about how awesome quilting can be as a hobby.

(2) Red, White and Blue donation quilt - DONE but didn't snap a picture before it headed out the door :( rookie mistake, I know!(3) Flurry Christmas Star DONE (and sold on Etsy)(4) Gypsy - no progress - I lost some inspiration on this and put it aside. (5) Tipsy Quilt Kit - I decided to repurpose these fabrics in my stash. The end result was going to be very similar to the Twister quilt below and while I really loved the fabrics, I thought they would be happier going to another quilty home in the future. So, I call this project DONE!(6) The Twister pattern using Sassy by Sandy Gervais - I finished the top on this and blogged about the fun Twister tool here. I'm about 1/2 finished with quilting the top, should finish her soon. She'll go on Etsy and find a new home in 2013.(7) Salt Air Baby Quilt - I decided to put some of my hexie makin' skills to use here and made about 50 hexagons to appliqué on to this quilt. So, some progress made. About 1/3 of the way done on this one.(8) Granny Square Baby Quilt - the blocks are done but need to be assembled and then quilted. This will be donated to Baby Bundles this year!(9) Reindeer Wall Hanging - no progress, maybe Christmas 2013 :(

(10) Bee In My Bonnet Row Along - couldn't kick start this into gear.(11) Flea Market Fancy - sadly no progress either - but it is still calling to me.

(12) And finally, my beloved Hexa Go-Go Christmas Quilt - here is the top, finished on December 24th!! I cannot wait to quilt this one, but to be very honest, I think I'm at the point where I need to step away from the quilt for a week or two before I do so. It was a labor of love, for sure!

So, there we are fellow Hustlers! How did you all do, I can't wait to visit your blogs and find out! All my best for a happy, healthy 2013 to all of you.

December 24, 2012

Well, I will close out the holiday season without finishing this, but I gave it my best and I just love the way the top looks. I still need to add a border (maybe?) and quilt it but I don't want to rush and be unhappy with the result.

Here are some pics of the top - I'm just in love with this quilt, probably because so many hours have gone into it!

It's such a great size for snuggling in front of the fire or on the couch :)

Techniques used: English Paper Piecing Hexagons by hand and paper foundation string pieced blocks. There are 16 blocks made up of four smaller blocks each, which are then pieced together with the hexagon appliquéd to the center of the block.

The hexagons are made with 100 different fabrics that I received in a charm square swap so there are very few repeats in the hexies. The fabrics for the blocks are 5 different christmas fabrics from Moda.

I will debut this finished quilt in 2013. For now, I'm off to get ready for Santa Claus tonight...
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!